Liszt

The renowned Franz Liszt (1811-1886) is the most famous fan the harp has ever had. Not only did he try to play it, complaining about “those pesky pedals”, he insistently asked the harpists he knew to make transcriptions of some of his pieces (Angelus, as a prime example). He lovingly wrote beautiful harp parts into his symphonic poems and composed a few choir pieces expressly with harp. Check out his very accessible Hymne de l’enfant à son réveil or, if you are into chamber music, a trio version of his symphonic poem Orpheus.